


Come Out of Hiding (I'm Right Here Beside You)

by TheSilverField



Series: EreJean Week 2k19 [1]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Angst, Based on Chapter 106, Day 1: Forbidden, EreJeanWeek2k19, Hurt, Hurt No Comfort, M/M, Past Relationship(s), Post Marley, Post-Time Skip, canonverse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-30
Updated: 2019-03-30
Packaged: 2019-12-26 13:15:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18283043
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSilverField/pseuds/TheSilverField
Summary: Eren had always been a determined young man, but he could feel his resolve being shaken. His throat went dry and he felt himself getting to the end of his rope. He wanted to take Jean into his arms and kiss him like the world was ending. He wanted to visit Sasha’s grave. To apologize to everyone. To run away with Jean and never look back at the chaos he had helped create.In four years, he wanted to die in peace, in the arms of the man he loved.But he couldn’t have that now.





	Come Out of Hiding (I'm Right Here Beside You)

Eren’s mind was like a scratched record playing the same splintered song on repeat, spiraling into stuttering chaos and spinning restlessly on its track. No matter how hard he fought against himself, against the storms rolling into the recesses of his mind, against the devils plucking at his fragile heartstrings, all hope felt lost. The sun no longer showed itself to him, no longer lit his path or kept his smoldering embers warm. Life seemed pointless, suspended in lost time and endless unspoken apologies.

To his surprise, the door of his cell opened and he looked up to see Jean. His long hair was pulled back away from his face--one that Eren had always found frustratingly handsome--and he stood just two feet away with an angry expression he was never able to hide. Eren reached out to touch him, to draw him in closer, but his hand dropped to his side.

“What’s going on?” Jean asked plainly. “What the hell did that bastard do to you?”

Eren almost smiled. Stubborn Jean hadn’t changed a bit while he was away; always getting straight to the point. “My _brother_ hasn’t done anything to me. I’m acting on my own free will.”

“Bullshit!”

Jean’s voice echoed into silence and he had to take a few deep breaths to get himself under control again. His quick temper had a habit of getting the best of him, but he couldn’t afford emotion right now. The what was more important than the why, though it ripped Jean apart inside and out when he thought of never learning why Eren had betrayed them.

“Come here, Jean,” Eren said lowly.

“No,” Jean snapped. “No, you don’t get to make demands or bat your eyes and say you're sorry. Not this time. No more games, Eren.”

“Please,” he whispered, his eyes squeezed shut as if his body was being wracked with pain. “I can’t tell you the plan yet. Please just trust me, Jean.”

There was a long pause, tension freezing over the conversation. When Jean spoke again, his voice was strained to keep from cracking.

“Do we mean nothing to you now?”

“We?”

Their eyes met and Eren felt himself crumbling.

“Do I mean nothing to you now?” Jean finally asked, his hands clenched to fists at his side.

Eren had always been a determined young man, but he could feel his resolve being shaken. His throat went dry and he felt himself getting to the end of his rope. He wanted to take Jean into his arms and kiss him like the world was ending. He wanted to visit Sasha’s grave. To apologize to everyone. To run away with Jean and never look back at the chaos he had helped create.

In four years, he wanted to die in peace, in the arms of the man he loved.

But he couldn’t have that now.

“Yeah,” Eren droned unfeelingly, but he was screaming on the inside. “You don’t mean a damn thing to me anymore.”

He kept his eyes locked with Jean’s, watching such a strong man nearly lose grip of himself. He nodded, backing out of Eren’s cell and slamming it closed. Jean gave Eren one last look before he turned and left his heart behind.


End file.
